First in a new series featuring DC Beth Young, a female detective joining Cumbria’s FMIT (Force Major Incident Team) The Silent Dead follows Beth and her team in their race against time to catch a brutal and disturbed killer before he strikes again.
Beth is an interesting character; a model in her teens, her passion for justice drove her to join the police, but she was still in her training period when an off-duty incident saw her left with deep facial scars, ‘ruining’ her beauty. For Beth, beauty was never something she cared about, though, and it didn’t stop her drive and ambition. Tapped for FMIT because of her puzzle-solving skills and ability to think laterally, she’s desperate to fit in. When a major case breaks in her first week, Beth dives right in, determined to prove herself.
Beth’s fear of failure is a very relatable one and it made her a character who was easy to sympathize with, but I did feel there was a bit too much ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’ us her lateral thinking and ability to solve puzzles. Everything she worked out could have been done by any competent police detective tasked with the jobs she was given; I didn’t think there was anything particularly intuitive about what she did.
The crimes were gruesome and sinister, and I thoroughly enjoyed working out who the killer was; the author does throw in some red herrings along the way but as we’re given a glimpse into the killer’s mind, I worked it out well before Beth did and was waiting with bated breath for her to catch up.
An enjoyable read, but still, lacking a little in the ‘showing’ department for me. Four stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.